Inspired by the most unlikely architectural accents—the backs of houses, small alleys, shadowy corners, Paul Madonna puts to paper the split-second moments we often take for granted. His work, not quite cartoons and not quite fine art, shows immense talent with every detail and each pen stroke. He draws his outlines with ink, never pencil, and with a precise, dramatic shadowing that amazes art critics and enthusiasts in its uncanny ability to capture mood. To top it off, he writes tidbits of inspirational stories that provoke something different for every viewer.

Madonna set out to study fine arts as an under grad at Carnegie Mellon and emerged a cartoonist. He was enamored by the interaction between arts and storytelling and found his interest in documenting ideas to be more profound than painting a masterful work of art, flawlessly bridging the commercialism of illustrations for publishing with artistry worthy of gallery showings.

His work is a methodical process. Starting with fictional stories or conversations that he’s written in his trusty little notebook, he later matches these stories with an inspired location